NC NC - Asha Degree, 9, Shelby, 14 Feb 2000

[Nadal]

"Asha stayed over at cousin Catina's house Sat. night. Were there any male family members hanging around? The older cousin was 15. Did Asha look up to these girls and want to be "grown" and venture out on her own?"

This is a quote from one of my previous posts on this thread. It just came to me. Which direction did her older cousin live? Could Asha have been wanting to go back to her cousins house? Could they have planned something and Catina has kept it her secret for all of these years over guilt? MOO

It's possible but i feel like LE would have got this out of a young child, if anyone from the extended family is involved i feel it was more likely an adult. Of course we have no idea who they did and didn't interview, but considering that info has been released you have to figure they went over everyone who attended. Waco where some of Asha's family lived and attended church is Northeast of Shelby i believe. I don't know if that's the same family though.

 

[Nadal]

Yes, @Nadal . I plan to interview family members and associates that are willing in all of the cases that I feature. I agree with you completely, to get answers you really need to have insight from the insiders in the case and this case deserves the public's attention. And this case has so much information, possible interviewees. MOO, IMO

Do you mean they've already agreed or you are going to ask them?

 

[SAMS]

Also, while researching more, could it have been possible for the little girl that has not been identified in the pic to be one of Asha's b-ball teammates? An opponent from another town? What team did she play against that week for her first game? So odd that no-one has come out to identify this little girl in the pic.

 

[Nadal]

Also, while researching more, could it have been possible for the little girl that has not been identified in the pic to be one of Asha's b-ball teammates? An opponent from another town? What team did she play against that week for her first game? So odd that no-one has come out to identify this little girl in the pic.

How would she have got a picture of an opposing player? I'm not from the US but i played for various sports teams growing up and there'd be no opportunity for that and it would be especially weird for me to ask someone for one. I seriously doubt it's a teammate surely LE would have looked into that first, they appealed through a newspaper so they were clearly trying to find her.

I also personally think the picture looks older than the year 2000 or the late 90s but that's personal opinion.

 

[SAMS]

Do you mean they've already agreed or you are going to ask them?

I plan on locating and getting permission from them.

 

[Nadal]

I plan on locating and getting permission from them.

Good luck!

 

[SAMS]

How would she have got a picture of an opposing player? I'm not from the US but i played for various sports teams growing up and there'd be no opportunity for that and it would be especially weird for me to ask someone for one. I seriously doubt it's a teammate surely LE would have looked into that first, they appealed through a newspaper so they were clearly trying to find her.

I also personally think the picture looks older than the year 2000 or the late 90s but that's personal opinion.

Yes, I played b-ball in middle school, 7th and 8th grade here and we had time in between games to talk to visiting players. It usually wasn't to swap pics and be friendly, lol but you never know. MOO

 

[SAMS]

Good luck!

Ty!

 

[Nadal]

Yes, I played b-ball in middle school, 7th and 8th grade here and we had time in between games to talk to visiting players. It usually wasn't to swap pics and be friendly, lol but you never know. MOO

Fair enough. Here in Scotland we didn't intermingle with the opposing players at half-time or even have the opportunity. The only time i can think of that was possible was an indoor (Football/Soccer) tournament we played once a year among Catholic Primary Schools.

I still doubt that's the case because i believe LE would have considered this, they heavily considered her running away due to a basketball game so it obviously factored into their investigation.

 

[MissLaura]

SAMS, good luck with the podcast and I'm looking forward to listening to it.

I live in NC (long ways from Shelby) but only just became familiar with Asha's case in the last couple of months. You'd think this type of story would have gotten more attention, especially considering the circumstances under which she disappeared. I feel like Asha had to have been groomed by someone.

 

[Nadal]

SAMS, good luck with the podcast and I'm looking forward to listening to it.

I live in NC (long ways from Shelby) but only just became familiar with Asha's case in the last couple of months. You'd think this type of story would have gotten more attention, especially considering the circumstances under which she disappeared. I feel like Asha had to have been groomed by someone.

She's black and from a poor area. I know that "white women syndrome" annoys a lot of white women but it's not criticizing them it's criticizing the media which is more white men controlled, and the general public reaction which is everybody. Either way it doesn't matter how crazy, sad, concerning, whatever Asha's story is she isn't of interest to most people in America thus her story has never been highlighted. Thankfully the internet has took a major interest in Asha's story, there's so many black people that are ignored because they don't bring in money like attractive white women.

 

[SAMS]

SAMS, good luck with the podcast and I'm looking forward to listening to it.

I live in NC (long ways from Shelby) but only just became familiar with Asha's case in the last couple of months. You'd think this type of story would have gotten more attention, especially considering the circumstances under which she disappeared. I feel like Asha had to have been groomed by someone.

Ty ! I will post here when I’m finished with my research and record the first episode.

 

[HayLouise]

@SAMS good luck with your podcast! I look forward to listening.

 

[SAMS]

@SAMS good luck with your podcast! I look forward to listening.

Ty!

 

[Quill]

Yes, I played b-ball in middle school, 7th and 8th grade here and we had time in between games to talk to visiting players. It usually wasn't to swap pics and be friendly, lol but you never know. MOO

Interesting! I grew up playing high school sports in the U.S., too, and we never mingled at half-time. We went to the locker room to get coached up and take a breather. The only mingling ever done at half-time was cheerleaders at football. We always "received" the visiting cheerleaders and provided them with a free coke from concessions. Ha. Old school 80's right there.

But seriously, my kids played this type of recreational community basketball as elementary children that I think we are talking about here with regards to sweet Asha. If we are talking about the same type of league, most of the kids comprising the teams already knew each other even if only by name. Now, I realize she lived in a rural area, so do we know if the teams were a part of a nearby city league, church league or something similar? In this situation, you signed up and all the participants were assigned to a team. Often if kids were coming in from outlying rural areas, they tried to put them all on the same team due to transportation etc.

I coached a couple of my kids teams and find this line of thinking interesting. I will add that I just can't see kids from opposing teams exchanging pictures unless they were already friends at school or church somehow. I would find that very odd if it occurred before or after a game in the case that they had no other interactions outside of the games.

I have long worried that someone could have used her passion for basketball to lure her out. Possibly having promised to help coach her with certain skills, especially given the fact that she was upset over a recent loss and her parents seemed to think that was important.

 

[Feme98]

Interesting! I grew up playing high school sports in the U.S., too, and we never mingled at half-time. We went to the locker room to get coached up and take a breather. The only mingling ever done at half-time was cheerleaders at football. We always "received" the visiting cheerleaders and provided them with a free coke from concessions. Ha. Old school 80's right there.

But seriously, my kids played this type of recreational community basketball as elementary children that I think we are talking about here with regards to sweet Asha. If we are talking about the same type of league, most of the kids comprising the teams already knew each other even if only by name. Now, I realize she lived in a rural area, so do we know if the teams were a part of a nearby city league, church league or something similar? In this situation, you signed up and all the participants were assigned to a team. Often if kids were coming in from outlying rural areas, they tried to put them all on the same team due to transportation etc.

I coached a couple of my kids teams and find this line of thinking interesting. I will add that I just can't see kids from opposing teams exchanging pictures unless they were already friends at school or church somehow. I would find that very odd if it occurred before or after a game in the case that they had no other interactions outside of the games.

I have long worried that someone could have used her passion for basketball to lure her out. Possibly having promised to help coach her with certain skills, especially given the fact that she was upset over a recent loss and her parents seemed to think that was important.

It seems promising, was there a basketball playing field following the highway where she was last seen?

 

[dotr]

It just occurred to me to ask if the family and/or Asha received any unusual phone calls prior to when she went missing? speculation.

In Toronto there is a well known case concerning a young girl, a promising track and field athlete who was contacted by phone by a'' photographer'' who tricked her into meeting him at a public arena for a "team" photography session.
It did not end well.

 

[Quill]

It seems promising, was there a basketball playing field following the highway where she was last seen?

Basketball is an indoor sport and requires a gymnasium with a court. I suppose there are outdoor courts in parks and such, but in my part of the country league play is always in an indoor gymnasium.

I am not familiar with that area as I am in another state. Maybe another poster could answer the question of whether or not there is a court or gym nearby.

 

[Feme98]

Basketball is an indoor sport and requires a gymnasium with a court. I suppose there are outdoor courts in parks and such, but in my part of the country league play is always in an indoor gymnasium.

I am not familiar with that area as I am in another state. Maybe another poster could answer the question of whether or not there is a court or gym nearby.

In Chile, its pretty common to see outdoor courts near a football field, sometimes they are on the main road, or just inside the city

 

[Quill]

In Chile, its pretty common to see outdoor courts near a football field, sometimes they are on the main road, or just inside the city

Ah, I see. It is different here with respect to organized sports. Where I live in the southeastern U.S. organized sports from high school to the community youth basketball, which is what Asha likely was playing, is always in a gymnasium/indoor court building. The bleachers fill with spectators, friends and family to watch. It is usually held at a local high school gym or a church gym unless a community is lucky or large enough to have a city gym.